Movie: Dynamite
Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: 24 Frames Factory
Cast: Vishnu, Praneetha, JD Chakravarthy and others
Story: 24 Frames
Acton: Vijayan
Dialogues: BVS Ravi
Music: Achu
Cinematography: Satish Mutyala
Editor: S R Sekhar
Art: Raghu Kulakarni
Producer: Vishnu Manchu
Screenplay and Direction: Deva Katta
Release Date: Sep 4, 2015
In the past, Dev Katta had made the critically-acclaimed film Prasthanam. Known for touching upon different subjects, Dev Katta once again tries his hand at the Telugu remake of Venkat Prabhu, grandson of Sivaji Ganesan's Tamil film Arima Nambi.
Well, the combination of Dev Katta and Manchu Vishnu has generated quite a bit of interest in the industry and since the film is the remake of a hit Tamil film, there have been high expectations from the film. Let's see if the film matches these expectations...
Story:
Digital media professional Shivaji (Manchu Vishnu) and a college student Anamika ( Pranitha) meet at a coffee shop and decide to go on a date. When they meet for a date, Anamika invites Shivaji over to her apartment for a drink. When Shivaji goes to the washroom after a couple of drinks, Anamika is kidnapped. Though he chases the kidnappers, the loses them and he goes to the police station to lodge a complaint.
However, when the police accompany Shivaji to the apartment, they find that the whole place is clean and that everything is in place. They conclude that Shivaji has been hallucinating due to alcohol and go off. However, Shivaji decides to track the goons on his own and goes about figuring out what happened to Anamika.
In the process, he learns that Anamika is the daughter of a channel owner and that her kidnappers were after her for a micro-chip SD card which has a video that someone does not want the world to see. Meanwhile, the kidnappers demand a ransom and the SD card from Anamika's father. However, they kill him in the process and Shivaji goes on a mission to find out the true culprit and Anamika.
Artistes’ Performances:
Vishnu has of late toned down his huge frame and he fits the part perfectly. Though he is a digital media professional, his character uses more of brain and muscles instead of technology. Though his performance is not really up to the mark, he pulls off stunts beautifully.
On the other hand, Praneetha does little than walking around in mini-skirts. JD Chakravarthy gets to play the villain and he does his part well and with ease.
Nagineedu in a brief role makes his presence felt.
Technical Excellence:
Usually, the norm is that in films that Vishnu produces, the technical values are high. However, Dynamite does not live up to his usual standards and cinematography by Muthyala is pretty ordinary. So is the case with editing done by Sekhar.
Though the film has two music directors, where one has worked for songs and another for background score, both of them manage only run-of-the-mill fare.
But one technician who has surely done his best is stunt choreographer Vijayan.
Highlights:
- First half
- Some action stunts
- Confrontation between Vishnu and JD in the second half
Drawbacks:
- Screenplay
- Second half
- Weak motive for villain
- Weak music
Analysis:
When the film was in the making, it was said that while the film is the remake of Tamil hit Arima Nambi, director Deva Katta has made many changes while keeping the overall story in place. However, when one watches the film, it is pretty obvious that he has made only superficial changes if any, as he remains true to the original script of Arima Nambi.
The film starts off pretty well establishing the story's main plot in 15 minutes and thereafter the sequences successfully build suspense.
The shot where Nagineedu accompanies Vishnu to Praneetha's apartment, has been well executed and the following episodes are also handled well. Still, the first half has some glitches, though it is pretty decent.
But post interval, the film really goes off mark. So vis-a-vis the first half, the second half does not match up to the same scale barring the pre-climax sequence. Second half has some scenes that totally defy logic as action takes over and story goes for a toss.
One cannot help but wonder how a digital media professional can expertly handle so many guns. Also, one cannot decipher as to how one minister can use the entire police force for his personal means.
Also, some scenes have been taken off Tamil original and pasted in the film like the one scene where the police officer wears a badge with Tamil alphabet.
To put it in short, the film has a neat first half and some interesting moments in the second half. However, one loses interest post break due to inconsistent screenplay.
Bottomline: Not even Deepavali bomb!
(Venkat can be reached [email protected] or https://twitter.com/greatandhranews)
